The Hindu : Sport : Even centuries are not enough

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 16, 2005

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Even centuries are not enough

Ganguly can gain solace from the fact that many batsmen were dropped even after scoring centuries, writes Gulu Ezekiel

There has been a furore over the dropping of Sourav Ganguly after he scored 40 and 39 in the second Test against Sri Lanka in New Delhi. But the former captain can, perhaps, gain some solace from the fact that there have been instances in Test cricket of batsmen being dropped even after scoring a century. Here are some notable examples.

Andy Ganteaume (West Indies): The Trinidadian had the strangest and shortest of careers. His sole Test innings on his home ground against England in February 1948 produced an innings of 112. But his captain Gerry Gomez sent out a note in which he claimed he had asked the debutant to score faster. He failed to do so and never played again for the West Indies as England narrowly escaped defeat.

Vijay Manjrekar (India): His last Test was against New Zealand at Madras in February 1965. He scored 19 in the first innings and the selectors met to name the team for the next Test at stumps on the third and penultimate day before India had batted the second time. The team was not announced till the final evening and Manjrekar was not in it. However, he had dominated the final day's play with a classy 102 not out. Hurt, he announced his retirement from international cricket. The match was drawn.

Ken Barrington (England): England beat New Zealand by nine wickets in the first Test at Edgbaston in May 1965 with Barrington being the lone century maker. However, his 137 consumed 437 minutes and he was dropped on `disciplinary' grounds as the Kiwi bowling was considered sub-standard. It was said he batted selfishly as he increased his scoring rate only after reaching three figures.

Geoff Boycott (England): Another player accused of batting selfishly and paying the price was the Yorkshire opener, who scored 246 not out on his home ground of Headingley, Leeds against India in June 1967 as England won by six wickets. It was the highest score of his career but took nearly 10 hours and was against a notably weak Indian bowling attack. He was dropped for the second Test, but returned for the third.

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